Dameron CEO asked to step down ahead of possible UC Davis deal

Thursday

Oct 4, 2012 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Dr. Christopher Arismendi, president and CEO of Dameron Hospital since 2000, was asked by the Board of Directors to relinquish his post Oct. 23, prior to a "possible pending partnership" between the hospital and the University of California, Davis, Medical Center in Sacramento.

Joe Goldeen

STOCKTON - Dr. Christopher Arismendi, president and CEO of Dameron Hospital since 2000, was asked by the Board of Directors to relinquish his post Oct. 23, prior to a "possible pending partnership" between the hospital and the University of California, Davis, Medical Center in Sacramento.

In a statement Wednesday by Dameron, which is independent, the current management staff will assume responsibilities previously held by Arismendi until a new chief executive is named. Board member Dan Dixon confirmed the action but had no further comment. Arismendi did not make himself available Wednesday for comment.

The 202-bed community hospital at 525 W. Acacia St. in central Stockton and the UC Davis Medical Center - which operates a 631-bed regional hospital in central Sacramento - have been in private discussions since the middle of last year, according to Dameron spokesman Creighton Younnel.

In July, Dameron's chief operating officer, Nick Arismendi - Christopher Arismendi's brother - said, "Both parties are in the initial stages of conducting their own due diligence as to whether a formal affiliation will be advantageous to the achievement of their respective missions. If both parties decide to continue the discussions, the next step is to explore what kind of affiliation would be most beneficial to each organization and the communities we serve."

"We are still engaged in discussions and have not finalized the details of an affiliation," spokesman Charles Casey said, noting there was nothing more he could add.

Younnel emphasized that if an affiliation with the university-based hospital occurs, it would not be a takeover of the smaller Stockton hospital. He described it more as a proposed partnership or joint venture.

"Our intent as always is to keep Dameron in the forefront of community medicine and as a community asset. The talks are ongoing. Hopefully, this will come to fruition sometime soon. It will be mutually beneficial for the community," Younnel said. He said he was unable to provide further information.

While Dameron employs 1,300 nurses and other allied health care workers, making it one of San Joaquin County's top private employers, it is small compared with the UC Davis Health System that employs more than 11,000 staff and academic faculty.

A proposed affiliation between a UC medical center and a private hospital is not unusual.

"It has happened in the past. It is not unprecedented," said Dianne Klein with the UC Office of the President, referring to a onetime affiliation between UCSF Medical Center and Stanford Hospital and other affiliations in Southern California.

According to Dameron's news release, Christopher Arismendi joined Dameron's staff in 1994 to assist his father, the late Dr. Luis Arismendi, who was then the hospital's chief executive. The board named the younger Arismendi CEO in 2000 following the death of his father.

During his tenure, the hospital updated its medical technology, equipment and procedures. Its Clinical Core Laboratory uses some of the latest state-of-the-art equipment of any hospital lab in California, and the main hospital building has been literally rebuilt from the inside out in the past decade.

Arismendi will return to full-time surgical practice, performing general surgery and seeing patients in his office in the Linacia Building at 420 W. Acacia St. adjacent to the hospital.